Lady Speed Stick Womens Half Marathon – Scottsdale/Tempe

I decided to try and videotape every mile marker plus some in between for this race as I was running it at a jog and not my typical speed. Check it out!

Expo

Packet pickup was the day before at the host hotel The Doubletree which we stayed at. The hotel provided a shuttle to the race start and pick up at the finish line, as well as a gift bag upon check-in. They had some great booths at the expo which is where I bought my first pair of newtons (so far I love them). So I highly recommend staying at the host hotel. It was beautiful, had a pool and hot tub, along with salon/spa and room service.

Race DayThe race was on a clear beautiful cold morning starting in Scottsdale. I chose to run the race with my mom so I could take in the sites and videotape the mile markers along with other sites. We ran through old town/saloon, then went over to a main street which led to beautiful views of the canyons and a trail along the canal with more fantastic views of the mountains on one side and canyons with trails on the other. There was a good amount of water spots and I think my favorite part of the race was seeing one of the charities present do Gangnam style.We then ran over a bridge into Tempe and ran past the finish line festival area around mile 7.5. The rest of the race was on long main roads with a few bands along the route which brought some entertainment and of course mile markers at every mile which is always appreciated. The views were fantastic as it was very clear outside with the sun shining strong and bright. There weren’t a ton of spectators as there weren’t a lot of runners, but the medals were very large. There wasn’t as much for me to say about this race. The post-race food wasn’t that great, no post race massage, but the host hotel was great and I loved that they provided shuttle service. Anyways this was a beautiful race with amazing scenery and pretty huge medals. And if I do say so myself, doing a race on daylight savings in Arizona is the best choice as the time doesn’t change in that state so you are never confused. The afterparty was kind of lame, but they provided the good kind of Gatorade, not just lime.

Perks: The scenery, host hotel and medals

Ehhh… Not a Fan: the afterparty and the course could have been a little bit better.Final Grade: B+